Diamonds
by Bekken
Summary: Ron struggles to explain his relationship with his little sister. *Not incest*


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Diamonds

By Bekken

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disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and ideas are trademarks of JKR. Not mine, no matter how much I wish they were.

summary: Ron struggles to explain his relationship with his younger sister.

author's notes: Short is an understatement in this one, but it was intended. Can you tell I love having Ginny as a writer? Dedicated to In the Name of Reading, because she gave me the idea with her story, Brothers_. Thanks to Amy!_

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Ginny

By Ron Weasley

Well, Ginny, you asked for it, and here it is. I've defined my relationship with you as best I can. And may I just add to all you readers: Ginny may be the Wand Winning author in the family, but _I'm _the one who's got all the writing talents.

And now, we begin.

To define my relationship with Ginny would be like trying to define the sky. You can think of endless words to describe it, but everything somehow comes up short.

In truth, my relationship with my baby sister (and yes, she is my _baby _sister) cannot truly be defined. There isn't a word in the English language (vast that it is) that could really describe how I feel about my little sister. _Love _comes close, but it isn't what I would choose. Love makes me think of romantic things, and that's certainly the last thing I think of when I think of Ginny. My feelings for her are something deeper, and more complex than love. Love is just passion and flirtation. It is possible for love to evaporate over the years.

But I could never stop feeling what I feel for Ginny.

I always want to make sure she's safe. Most people say that it's the caveman in me taking over, the "big strong man comes to rescue of poor, weak woman" instinct. But I don't think that that's what it is.

I think the reason I'm so concerned about her, the reason I try to make sure she's always safe is because I _care _about her. I want to be sure nothing happens to her, because I would die inside if she did.

That may sound corny, as if I'm saying that Ginny is the only thing that's keeping me going. She's not. I mean, she matters _a lot _in my life, but I have so many other things to live for. My beautiful wife. My brothers. My parents. My friends.

But if Ginny dies, a big part of me dies too. If she gets hurt, that part of me is hurting with her. It's a bond that rises far above just the two of us, that I can't explain, can't even comprehend.

I've heard people tell me that I'm too protective of Ginny. That she's an adult, and she can take care of herself. But let's face it – she proved way back in my second year that she can't. Now, I'm not saying that she hasn't become a better, more alert and able person since she was eleven.

What I am saying is that the Chamber of Secrets opened my eyes. Before, I thought that everyone in my family was invincible. That nothing could ever happen to _them_. After, I realised the danger. And I knew that Ginny could get hurt.

I could never let my baby sister get hurt. Any pain she feels, I feel too. And it makes me angry when she suffers. It makes me angry at whoever made her suffer.

I worry about her. I worry about what could happen if things go wrong. I worry about her being hurt, about myself being left without her. I worry about the men she dates – are they going to take her heart and break it to pieces like Dean Thomas did when we were just out of Hogwarts? I still worry about her dating Harry - too many bad things seem to happen to him, and I don't want Ginny mixed up in all of that.

I want to protect her from all the suffering in the world. I want her to live in a world where everyone is happy, and she never has to feel pain, experience rejection.

I still want these things for her. I don't think that I could ever _stop _wanting these things for Ginny. But something she said to me once holds me back from acting on these feelings.

"Ron," she told me, looking right into my eyes. "You want to take away my pain, but you don't understand that without any pain, no one can experience joy."

This touches something inside of me. Somehow, when I want to jump in with my comments and solutions, I think of what she said to me that day. And, as I am constantly reminded, she is her own person. She is capable of making her own decisions, however wrong I think those decisions may be.

I still give her advice. I still am probably more protective than she thinks I should be. But I don't go to extremes like I once did.

I remember doing so many things with Ginny. We grew up as the other's playmate. There weren't many other children around besides us, and we became more than siblings. We were friends.

As we moved into adolescence, some of that friendship dissolved, as it often seems to do for teenagers. Now it is back again. I needed that time to step back from the closeness of my sister, and learn how to make it on my own. Now that I have, and I can depend on myself, we can regain that closeness we once lost.

Sometimes, I think of Ginny like a diamond. Not only have people told me that my sister is a jewel, Ginny resembles a diamond in nearly ever aspect.

She's beautiful – so amazingly beautiful that I never would have believed it growing up, while she was gawky, with arms and legs too long for her body. I don't remember the day she was born – Bill, Charlie, and Percy certainly do, and Fred and George say that they do, though I wonder if their memories might be tainted by stories. But all of them say that Ginny was the prettiest baby they'd ever seen. And now, when I look at my little sister, I agree.

When one looks at a beautiful diamond, one is awed. People are awed when they look at my sister. They are amazed. Ginny has a sort of glow inside of her, that lights up the world around her. She's always happy (excepting those pre-menstrual times which I will say no more about). People have told me that Ginny can't frown for more than half an hour. And I must say I agree.

But, diamonds also are exquisite. _Ginny _is exquisite. She is slim, and ravishing. She's refined. She seems, to most people, me included, perfect in every way.

Diamonds look almost fragile. I think of my sister as fragile. Sometimes, I worry about what people say to her, for fear they might break her. She says I treat her like she is made of glass. I don't know if I agree or disagree, but I often feel like my sister is fragile, like she needs protection. In jewellery shops and in museums, glass cases often surround diamonds, protecting them from the outside world. I often want to be Ginny's glass case.

Yet one fact everyone seems to forget about diamonds is this – they are the hardest materials in the world to break. No matter what one does to it, it is nearly impossible to break a diamond. Diamonds last a long time. They don't wither with age. They don't disintegrate quickly. A diamond will not crack. One can scratch a diamond, or break its heart. But the true diamond, inside, will never, ever be broken.

Diamonds look gorgeous – they are jewels. They look fragile, they look like they need protection. But diamonds don't need protecting. Diamonds, as I have so often told myself, can survive absolutely fine by themselves.


End file.
